Razor and blade therefor



Dec. 10, 1929. M. B. BEHRMAN RAZOR AND BLADE THEREFOR Filed Feb. 2, 1929INVENTOR A NEY patented Dec. 10, 1929 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICEMARCUS B. BEHRMAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN SAFETYRAZOR CORPORATION, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIARAZOR AND BLADE THEREFOR Application filed February 2, 1929. Serial No.336,991.

My present invention relates to safety razors of the type wherein theblade is pressed against fixed. stops with its shaving edge always inthe same predetermined position with respect to the razor guard. Thisinsures a proper shaving action notwithstanding expected-dimensionalvariations in blades employed.

The invention aims primarily to provide a razor blade having specialfeatures of construction by the use of which the above mentionedadjustment of the blade with reference to the stops may be carried outwith greater effectiveness and certainty, certain additional features ofconstruction being preferably employed in the blade to insure thatduring assembly it will bepreliminarily positioned within the properrange of action of the mechanism employed to press it against the stops.

The inventionalso includes a novel blade holder adapted to cooperatewith a blade of the nature above referred to, to press the blade againstthe stops as aforesaid.-

For the attainment of the foregoing objects and such other objects asmay hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated embodimentsof my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sideelevational view of my invention embodied in a type of razor somewhatlike that illustrated in Patent N 0. 1,091,436; 1

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, with parts broken away;

F Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of ig. 2' Fig. is a bottomelevational view of Fig. 1, looking upward; v d

Fig.- 5 shows the blade employed in the embodiment of Fi 1;

Fig. 6. is a modified form of blade embodyin my invention.

ne form'of blade constructed in accordance with the invention isdisclosed in Fig. 5

of the drawings, such blade having a shaving edge and being provided onits rear ed e, if desired, with a cover 22. Tar-enable t e blade to beeffectively re'ssed against stops of the nature above're erred to, Iwill provide it with cut-away portions and 26, located adjacent itsopposite side or end edges and rearwardly of its shaving edge, thesecut-away portions thereby prcsentin abutment shoulders 23 and 24 betweent e cutaway portions and the shaving edge 20, which may be engaged byproperly cooperating movable parts on a blade holder, to press the bladecutting edge against the stops on the holder as aforesaid.

Although the shoulders 23 and 24 afford widely spaced and symmetricalpoints or portions to which force may be applied to the blade inadjusting it as aforesaid, and thereby tend to insure accurate-adjustment, I prefor also to provide the blade with an opening 27located preferably centrally between the cut-away portions 25 and 26,this opening 27 running transverse to the cutting edge 20 of the bladeand usually at right angles thereto, in such manner as to provideelongated linear side walls 27 which may receive a projection in theblade holder and thereby confine the blade to the desired range ofposition and movement with respect to the blade holder. The end wall 27of opening 27 serves to limit the rearward position or movement of theblade with respect to the stops to be engaged by it, while the sidewalls 27 of opening 27 confine the blade preliminarily to a positionsubstantially parallel to its final adjusted position, and also mayguide the blade toward such final position during its adjustment.

The above features of construction, however, still permit the blade tobe used in certain previously known types of razor holders, for example,as described in United States Patents Nos. 1,091,436 and 1,135,775,

if desired.

In Figures 1 to 4,I have illustrated one form of blade holder ada ted tobe used in connection with a blade 0 the above nature, such holder beingmember 10carrying a saddle or blade seat 11, having guard teeth 12 atits front .end

provided with a handle and fixed stops 13 as above referred to adaptedto define a line to which the shaving edge 20' of the razor blade is toahe brought for the purposes of maximum efiieiency and shavingsmoothness. A cover member 15 is pivoted to the seat at the rear 16 soas to permit it being swung from the full line position of Fig. 1, whichis the position of blade engagement, to dotted line position in thatfigure, which i'sthe position of blade release.

The cover 15 is maintained either in one or the other of these positionsb means of the spring 17 (see Fig. 4 secure to the saddle, in anypreferred or esired manner, having free ends 18.which engage the toeportions 19 on o posite sides of the cover and to the rear of t e pivot16. The lips 18 of the spring and the toe portions 19 of the cover areof such a character that the springserves as a double acting one,forcing the cover to closed position when the .cover 1s on one side ofthe critical angle and forcin it to open position when on the other side0 this critical angle.

In accordance with the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, themeans on the cover for maintainin the blade, with its shaving edgeagainst t e front stops and for advancing the blade along the seat, whenit is not already so engaged, are in the form of members 30 which, inthe illustrated embodiment, comprise spring elements bent in'the shapeof a V and each secured at the free end of one leg 31 to the cover andhaving the end of the other leg 32 free, this last-mentioned leg servingas the active advancing element. The cover is provided with two suchspring members, one on each side, and positioned well to the front ofthe cover ivot and intermediate of the front stops an the cover pivot. Ithereby obtain not only an increased leverage for the advancin means butthe added advanta e that the depth of the razor can be somew atshortened as the springs have been moved from a position to the rear ofthe blade to a positionabove' the blade. To provide clearance for thesemembers 30, the seat or saddle is cut away at each side as clearly shownat 29 in Fig. 3.

The distance between the abutment shoulders 23 and 24 and the shavingedge 20 is such that when the blade is initially seated on the razorthese abutment shoulders 23 and 24 will each be engaged by a leg 32 ofthe sprin member 30 as the cover is brought into 0 amping position, toadvance the blade along its seat to'bring the shaving edge 20 intoengagement with the front sto s 13 and therefore into that line whichhas een predetermined as the line of maximum shavin efiiciency, where itis not already so engage and to maintain such engagement.

By the employment in the razor of Fig. 1 of'a blade having abutmentshoulders 23 and 24 positioned as set forth, and due to the manner oftheir cooperation with the advancing members 30 carried bythe cover, Inot only secure the advantage ofthe longer leverage with a shortening ofthe razor but also find that the advancing motion on the bladed willgenerally be of a more uniform and improved character.

The razor seat or saddle 11,is provided with an upstanding rojection 40on 1ts upper face positioned a su stantial distance to the rear of thelines connecting the front stops 13, and in the illustrated embodimentthis projection takes a generally oblong form with the longer dimensionextending transversely of the saddie, that is, at right angles to theline connecting the front stops 13. The opening 27 in the blade issubstantially longer than the projection 40 and is of a widthsufficiently larger than the width of the pro'ection 40 so as to permitof the projection eing freely received through the opening. Due to thesubstantiall increased length of the opening over that o the projection,it will be understood that the blade, even though it is positioned overthe projection, can be shifted with reference to the projection and theblade seat in a direction to bring the shaving edge 20 toward or awayfrom the front stops 13, and b giving this opening and these projectionstlie disclosed contours and the relative dimensions as above set forth,the projection serves additionally to limit the blade to a substantiallyrectilinear movement andto guide it in such movement. The size of theopening 27 is preferably such w'th reference to the projection 40 andpartic larly the length of the opening with reference to the length ofthe projection that wh n the blade has been seated with the proj ctionreceived through the opening 27 thereof, the bladeedge 20 will be inproximity to the line connecting the front stops 13""and therefore inproximity to the final position which the. shaving edge is to take. Thedistance of the rear wall 27 of the opening 27 inthe blade from theblade edge 20 is greater than the distance of the rear wall 40' of theprojection 40 from the line connecting the front stops 13, 13, so thatat no time can the projection 40 serve to prevent the blade edge frombeing advanced into enga ement with the front stops. So also, thefistance of the front wall 27 from the shavin edge 20', while less thanthe distance of the ront'wall 43' from the aforementioned line,'is suchwith reference to said aforementioned distance thatin anyrearwardposition of the blade, while 40 and 27 are in engagement, therear endof the blade Wlll be prevented from striking the rear part ofthe cover.

The slots 25 and 26 and the opening 27 are positioned laterally of eachother in the central zone of the blade, as clearlyshown in Fig. 5, thelatter being positioned wholly within the perimeter of the bladealthough this is not essential as to certain phases of my invention. Thefront wall 27 of the opening is closer to the edge of the blade than arethe abutment shoulders 23 and 24 presented by the slots 25 and 26. As aresult of this arrangement, the shoulder 27 serves not only to limit theinitial position of the blade rearwardly of the razor saddle or seat,but makes this limiting position such as to always present the abutments23 and 24 in a positional relation with reference to the spring members30 on the cover, so as to permit of the proper coaction between thecover and the abutments 23 and 24.

The side walls 40*, which along with the rear wall 40 and the front wall40 define the oblong character of the projection 40 'serve to guide theblade in its forward and rearward movement b their coaction with theside walls 27 which define the oblong character of the openin 27 in theblades.

While I have describe the elements 27 and 40 both as to their relativecontours, dimensions and positional relationship to each other and tothe razor parts because of the added function and utility which resultfrom such detail arrangement, it will be understood that such details ofconstruction, while advantageous, are not essential to the border phasesof my invention in this respect, and that therefore my invention is notto be considered as limited to such features unless such details arespecifically called for in the claims. One of those broader phases, forexam le, is the positioning of a portion of the bla e between theprojection 40 and the front stops 13, so as to bring the abutmentshoulders 23 and 24 into proper cooperative relation to the members 30.

My invention permits of the employment with razors of the general typeherein disclosed, charact rized as herein set forth, of a double edgedblade without in any way requiring any changes exceptin dimensions ofthe parts, for example as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. The blade 221is provided with cutting edges 220 and 222 at opposite ends andsymmetrically of the longest dimension of the blade, i. e., thedimension from side to side, there are portions cut away to provideslots 225 and 226 defined in art by the two pairs of'oppositelypositiones abutment shoulders 223 and 224. There are thus provided twosets of abutment shoulders to cooperate alternatively with the dependingmembers on the cover, for example springs 32, so that when one shavingedge, for example the shavin edge 222, is the active one, the abutment soulders 223 will be in cooperative relationshi to the aforementioned srings 32 and when t e razor blade is reverse so as to bring the other ede 220 into active osition, the abutment shoulders 224 will be t e activeshoulders for the same pur ose. By arran ing these shoulders 223 and 224so that eac pair are in alignment and at the same distance from itsadjacent cutting edge, as the other pair is from its adjacent cuttingedge, the

lads can be reversed not only to bring the other cutting edge intoactive position, but

can be reversed from side to side so as to reverse the face of theblade. The advancing spring members shown in Fig. 3, for example, can beof a character to accommodate the allsymmetrical arrangement of theslots 225 of the blade of Fig. 6 because of the inherently flexiblecharacter of the leg 32 thereof or by a slight change in their positionon the cover can be made to do so. The inactive cutting edge of theblade of Fig. 6 will be prevented from contacting with any portion ,ofthe cover on its rearward movement away from the front stops by thelimiting action of the projection 40 or 140, as the case may be, asalready aforementioned, and this inactive rear edge of the blade will beprotected against accidental contact by the skirt 15projectingrdownwardly from the cover at its rear (see ig. 1).

I have herein disclosed my invention as embodied in varyingconstructions, and have described these constructions in detail. Suchdetailed description, or any part thereof, is not to be construed in alimitative sense unless called for by the language of the claims or thelogical interpretation to be given to such language.

' Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Incombination, a razor holder having a guard and fixed stops adjacent theends of the guard adapted to fix the position of the shaving edge of ablade w1th reference to the guard when such a blade is pressed againstthe stops, a razor blade having cutaway ortions'therein disposedrearwardly of its s aving edge and presenting abutment shoulders in theblade between said port-ions and said sto s, said holder being providedwith a movable portion having means fixed thereto to be received withinsaid cut-away portions to en age said shoulders to press the edge of thelade against said stops.

2. In combination, a razor holder having a guard end fixed stopsad'acent the ends of the guard adapted to fix t e position of theshaving edge of a blade with reference to the guard when such a blade ispressed against the sto s, a razor blade having cut-away portions terein disposed rearwardly of its shaving ed e in the blade between saidportions and said stops, said holder having means to be received withinsaid cut-away portions to enage said shoulders to press the edge of thefilade against said stops, said blade having an opening therein disposedbetween sai cut-away portions and running transverse to its shavingedge, and said holder having a projection adapted to be received withinsaid opening to preliminarily position the blade with respect to saidmeans, but having such clearance in a direction transverse totheshavingedgethattbeedgeoftheblade and presenting abutment shoulderswill engage said stops before the projection engages an end of saidopening, said opening having side walls confining the blade in itsmovement to a path of travel toward the stops.

3. In a device of the character described, in combination, a razorcomprising a saddle having a guard for the shaving edge and a memberprojecting upwardly from the saddle for initially locating the blade andfront stops to define the final position of the shaving edge, and acover pivoted thereto having blade advancing members dependingdownwardly along opposite sides thereof, said advancing members havingengaging portions on the forward portion thereof and a blade cut away soas to provide an opening to receive freely the u wardly projectinglocating member, and a utment shoulders positioned adjacent its oppositeside edges at such a distance from the shaving edge that when the bladeis seated on the saddle with the upwardly projecting member received inthe aforementioned opening, the blade will be preliminarily located withits shaving edge in proximity to the line connecting the front stops andin proper position for advancement thereagainst, and the side abutmentswill be positioned as to be engaged by said engaging portions of thedepending blade advancing members, and advanced thereby relatively tothe saddle and to the upwardly projecting locating member, as the coveris brought down to blade clamping position.

4. In combination, a razor holder having a guard and fixed stopsadjacent the ends of the guard adapted to fix the position of theshaving edge of a blade with reference to the guard when such a blade ispressed against the stops. a razor blade having cutaway portions thereindisposed rearwardly of its shaving edge and presenting abutmentshoulders in the blade between said portions and said stops, said bladealso having an opening between said cut-away portions, and said holderhaving adjustable means adapted to be received Within said cut-awayportions to engage said shoulders to press the edge of the blade againstsaid stops, said holder also having a projection adapted to be receivedin said opening to preliminarily position the blade with respect to saidadjustable means.

5. A safety razor blade having a shaving edge provided with stopengageable corner portions and cutawav portions in the central zone ofthe blade and in the opposite sides thereof, said cutaway portionspresenting abutment shoulders therebetween and said shaving edge, saidblade also having an opening between said cut-away portions withelongated linear side walls running transverse to said shaving edge toguide said stop engageable corner portions to their final predeterminedstopping positipn. v

6. A safety razor blade having ashavmg edge provided with stopengageable corner portions and cut-away portions adjacent opposite sideedges which are spaced in a rearward direction from the shaving edge andpresent abutment shoulders between said portions and said shaving edge,said bladealsg having an opening between said cut-away portions which iselongated in a direction transverse to said shaving edge so as to extendcloser to the shaving edge than said abutment shoulders, said cutawayportions and said 0 enin being located in the central zone of the blade.

7. A double edged safety razor blade hav- I ing substantially parallelfront and rear shaving edges provided with stop engageable cornerportion, and cut-away portions adjacent opposite side edges whichpresent abutment shoulders respectively spaced substantially equallyfrom said front and rear edges, said blade also having an openingdisposed substantially centrally between said cut-away portions, saidopening being elongated in a direction transverse to said firstmentioned edges and having end walls spaced substantially equally fromthe respective adjacent front and rear edges.

8. A double edged safety razor blade having substantially arallel frontand rear shaving edges provided with stop engageable corner portions,and cut-away portions adjacent opposite side edges which presentabutment shoulders respectively spaced substantially equally from saidfront and rear edges, said blade also having an opening disposedsubstantially centrally between said cutaway portions, said openingbeing elongated in a direction transverse to said first mentioned edgesand having end walls spaced substantially equally from the respectiveadjacent front and rear edges, and elongated linear walls to serve forblade guiding purposes.

9. A razor blade comprising shaving edges along opposite edges providedwith stop engageable corner portions, the active edge being adapted tocontact with a front gauge on a razor, a plurality of sets of abutmentportions each set being arranged abreast, intermediate the opposedshaving edges and each set at the same distance from its adjacentshaving edge and adapted to be engaged and forwardly pressed toward saidfront gauge when its adjacent shaving edge is the active one and anintermediate positioning slot adapted to position the blade forsaidforward movement, regardless of which edge is the active one, said slotextending closer to the opposed shaving edges than said abutment.

10. A razor blade comprising a shaving edge having stop engaging cornersadapted to contact with front gauge stops of a razor, a plurality ofabutment portions arranged abreast in the central zone of the blade andto bring said stop engaging corners against said front gauge stops andan intermediate positioning slot adapted to position the blade for saidforward movement.

11. A razor blade comprising a shavin edge having stop engaging cornersadapted to contact with front gauge stops of a razor, a plurality ofslots directed inwardly from the sides and arranged abreast in thecentral zone of the blade and presenting abutment portions ada ted to beengaged and forward- 1y pressed toliring said stop engaging cornersagainst said front gauge stops and anintermediate positioning slotarranged in laterally overlapping relation with reference to theaforementioned positioning slots and adapted to positionv the bladeforsaid forward movement.

12. A razor blade adapted for use with blade supporting and clampingmembers, said blade embodying a shaving edge along one side and aplurality of abutment portions positioned across the blade and laterallyof each other in the central zone of the blade, the intermediateabutment portion serving to locate the blade on its seat in proximity tothe front stops and the abutment portions to each side thereof inposition to cooperate with blade advancing means associated with saidmembers, said intermediate abutment portion being positioned in closerproximity to the shaving edge of the blade than the other aforementionedabutment portions.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification this 1st day ofFebruary, 1929.

MARCUS B. BEHRMAN.

DISCLAIMER 1,739,280.Marcus B. Behrman, Brooklyn, N. Y. RAZOR AND BLADETHEREFOR. Patent dated December 10, 1929. Disclaimer filed June 21,1934, by the assignee, American Safety Razor Corporation.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to the subject matter constituting'claims5, 10, 11, and 12 of said patent which read as follows:

5. A safety razor blade having a shaving edge provided with stopengageable corner portions and cutaway portions in the central zone ofthe blade and in the opposite sides thereof, said cutaway portionspresenting abutment shoulders therebetween and said shaving edge, saidblade also having an opening between said cutaway portions withelongated linear side walls running transverse to said shaving edge toguide said stop engageable corner portions to their final predeterminedstopping position.

10. A razor blade comprising a shaving edge having stop engaging cornersadapted to contact with front auge stops of a razor, a plurality ofabutment portions arranged abreast in the centra zone of the blade andadapted to be engaged and forwardly pressed to bring said stop engagingcorners against said front gauge stops and an intermediate positioningslot adapted to position the blade for said forward movement.

11. A razor blade comprising a shaving edge having stop engaging cornersadapted to contact with front gauge stops of a razor, a plurality ofslots directed inwardly from the sides and arranged abreast in thecentral zone of the blade and presenting abutment portions adapted to beengaged and forwardly pressed to bring said stop engaging cornersagainst said front gauge stops and an intermediate positioning slotarranged in laterally overlapping relation with reference to theaforementioned positioning slots and ada ted to position the blade forsaid forward movement.

12. A razor blade a apted for use with blade supporting and clampingmembers, said blade embodying a shaving edge along one side and aplurality of abutment portions positioned across the blade andlaterally'of each other in the central zone of the blade, theintermediate abutment portion serving to locate the blade on its seat inproximity to the front stops and the abutment portions to. each sidethereof in osltion to cooperate with blade advancing means associatedwith said members, said intermediate abutment portion being positionedin closer proximity to the shaving edge of the blade than the otheraforementioned abutment portions.

[Ofiicial Gazette August 14, 1.934.]

